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The director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, brought one of the paramilitary operators involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro to his meeting with senior Cuban officials in Havana, according to CBS News citing multiple sources.
Ratcliffe's visit to Havana took place during the week of May 14, marking an unusual trip for the head of U.S. intelligence to the island.
Several sources indicated that Ratcliffe deliberately introduced the paramilitary to the Cuban officials as "the one who killed his people in Venezuela," a gesture that was interpreted as a intentional warning signal.
The weight of the message is significant: the Cuban government had confirmed that 32 of its military and police died during the U.S. operation to capture Maduro on January 3, 2026, which involved special forces and the CIA.
Cuba and Venezuela maintained a political, economic, and intelligence alliance for decades prior to Maduro's arrest, and the presence of the paramilitary at the meeting was likely intended to remind the Cuban regime of the consequences of that partnership.
Among the Cuban officials who met with Ratcliffe was Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "Raulito," the grandson of former President Raúl Castro, as well as the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Álvarez Casas.
The sequence of events that followed reinforces the interpretation of a coordinated pressure: less than a week after that meeting, the Department of Justice declassified a formal indictment against Raúl Castro —94 years old— for the shooting down of two aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four American citizens.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Castro is now "a fugitive from U.S. justice," according to this source.
Hours after Maduro's capture, Rubio had already warned that the Venezuelan intelligence agency was "full of Cubans" and that if he lived in Havana and was part of the government, "he would at least be a little worried."
A CIA official specified that Ratcliffe conveyed the message that the United States is "prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes," and that Cuba "can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere."
Rubio added this week that Cuba "not only has weapons acquired from Russia and China, but also hosts Russian and Chinese intelligence presence on its territory."
Meanwhile, the U.S. intelligence community has been analyzing how Cuba would respond to a potential military action, and it has been confirmed that the island has acquired attack drones.
The Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel responded that Cuba "poses no threat" to the United States, but warned that any military aggression "will provoke a bloodbath with incalculable consequences".
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